Smallholder Tree Growing in Philippine Back Yards: Homegarden Characteristics in Different Environmental Settings - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 67

lowlands, there is a tendency towards a more diverse structural composition, an
increase in plant density and crop species diversity but a decrease in “wild” spe-
cies. At the same time, differentiation occurs towards livestock and crop mixtures
predominated by one or two fruit and/or vegetable species among tree crops and
one vegetable and/or tuber species among non-tree crops. As total farm area per
household decreases, there is less space for livestock and subsistence cropping. It
is expected that, with the increasing shortage of farmland, the future role of
homegardens in supplementing farm production and cash income will grow. This
expectation needs adequate attention, particularly in the context of poverty alle-
viation among rural communities with few prospects to alternative farm and off-
farm livelihood. In addition, there is still potential for increasing excess crops for
sale through species diversification and land use intensification. The role of
homegardens in environmental services, such as, carbon sequestration, is another
field in need of further exploration, particularly because gardens are some of the
few sites where people spontaneously grow trees.
Acknowledgments This research was undertaken within the framework of the Cagayan Valley
Program on Environment and Development (CVPED), a joint undertaking of the Institute of
Environmental Sciences (CML) at Leiden University in the Netherlands and Isabela State
University (ISU) in the Philippines. It was co-funded by the Netherlands Foundation for the
Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO) grant no. WR 84-540. The author likes to thank
ISU and CVPED staff for their kind assistance and facilitation.
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